Universal basic income: The Universal Basic Income is a scheme that provides a basic income to all citizens of a particular state or the country, irrespective of their income, social standing, or employment status.

Universal basic income

Universal basic income: Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director Kenichi Yokoyama has said that the central government has to do more analysis before implementing universal basic income (UBI) scheme in the most efficient way. However, Yokoyama said India was going in the right direction regarding the universal basic income plan. Introducing a universal basic income plan has been a subject of debate and discussion. A few days ago, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey informed the Lok Sabha that a monthly sum of Rs 3,000 should be credited in each account of around 10 crore poor families if it would help remove poverty in the country.

Recently, the ruling party of Sikkim, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) stated that it would include the UBI in its manifesto for the Assembly election scheduled to be held in 2019. The party said that it was aiming to implement the scheme by 2022. If it is materialised, Sikkim will be the first state in the country to roll out the scheme. In the 2017 Economic Survey, the UBI scheme was termed as “a conceptually appealing idea” and a possible alternative to social welfare programmes targeted at reducing poverty.

ADB Country Director has also appreciated India’s capability to provide direct benefit transfer through Aadhaar. However, Yokoyama claimed that “farm loan waiver is not an effective means to address farm distress”. He said that there is a need to address agriculture sector distress. “…but economic principle-wise, farm loan waiver is not an effective means to address farm distress,” he said.

What is Universal Basic Income (UBI)?

The Universal Basic Income is a scheme that provides a basic income to all citizens of a particular state or the country, irrespective of their income, social standing, or employment status. The idea behind the scheme is that every citizen is entitled to a reasonable income irrespective of their contribution to the economy.